Strategic Stakeholder Engagement in Public Diplomacy

Abstract

“Strategic stakeholder engagement,” as a term, concept, or practice has yet to gain wide currency within public diplomacy. That gap, however, may soon close as the international arena transitions from the information age, dominated by the mass media and message-driven strategies, to the global communication era dominated by the social media and relational and network strategies. Earlier models of public diplomacy were based on a one-way flow of information that was detached and impersonal, which are now becoming obsolete. For public diplomats, strategic stakeholder engagement represents a two-fold challenge of identifying the “who” (stakeholders) and the “what” (engagement). This seeks to address those challenges, drawing upon multiple perspective, including business, public relations, development communication, and traditional diplomacy. The paper includes illustrative examples of information, relational and networking public diplomacy initiatives from around the globe.